Cider Braised Pork Belly with Root Mash, Braised Cabbage and Cranberry Chutney

I do love winter.  All the great foods come out; soups, stews, and braises.

Pork belly is a treat and this recipe is great for entertaining.  Make sure you reduce the braising liquor down and thicken for a flavour-filled gravy.

Serves 4-6

Pork Belly

1.5 kg pork belly
¼ cup bran oil
2 tablespoons coarse salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
1  onion,sliced
4 small baby fennel or 1 large fennel sliced
2 small carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, whole
2 bay leaves
2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
½ c oaked chardonnay
1 cup chicken stock
2 cup apple cider
½ cup beef stock
½ cup red wine vinegar
salt to taste

Preheat the oven as hot as it will go.  Score the pork belly with a sharp knife and rub well with the oil.  Sprinkle over the salt and place in a medium sized casserole dish in the hot oven for around twenty minutes, or until the skin forms a crackling but be careful to make sure it does not burn.

Remove from the oven and lower the heat to 160 degC.  In the casserole, add the vegetables, garlic, and bay leaves, sweating overa medium heat until well softened.  Add the liquid ingredients and add the pork belly and cover.

Place in the oven and check in 30 minutes to make sure the liquid is just boiling.  Cover and cook for another 2 ½ hours.

When cooked, remove the pork belly and rest covered for 10 minutes.  Pass the remaining stock through  a fine sieve and collect the gravy in a small saucepan.  Thicken and serve on the side.

Braised Cabbage

3 rashers streaky bacon, finely diced.
½ head of cabbage, finely shredded

In a non-stick frypan, render the fat from the bacon over a low heat.  Add the cabbage, cover and reduce the heat to very low.  Toss every 5 minutes or so for about 20-30 minutes.

Cranberry Chutney.

1 red onion, finely sliced
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 star anise
½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 small jar whole cranberry jelly
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
½ cup white sugar
1 cinnamon stick

In a small saucepan,  sweat the onions in the butter,oil, sugar and spices until softened and begining to brown.  Add the remaining ingredients and combine.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the desired consistency is reached  (I like mine runny.)  This can be made a day ahead and reheated gently just prior to serving.

Keep tasting to make sure that the balance is right  as the vinegar becomes more concentrated as the chutney reduces.  You are looking for something that is sharp on its own but will cut through the richness of the pork belly.

Root Mash

1 small swede, peeled and diced.
3 large potatoes peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed.
salt for seasoning
large knob of butter
cream and milk

Simmer the vegetables and garlic in the salted water until cooked.  Mash roughly with the butter, then add the cream and milk.  With a fork,  whip the mash adding more milk and cream as required until you get the desired consistancy.

To assemble, layer the mash in the middle of the plate, top with the cabbage and then add a dollop of the chutney, layering slices of the pork belly over the top.  Serve the left over chutney and gravy on the side.

Enjoy.